Wednesday, December 2, 2009

First Post

A while ago, I was talking to a coworker about my "backlog". Everybody has one - you know, the huge list of books you want to read, video games you want to play, movies you want to watch, etc. And if you don't have a backlog - well, kudos. Or something. You're obviously better at this stuff than I am.

Anyway, as I approach the end of a rather grueling semester/season of life, I'm looking forward to having blocks of free time again, and I'd like to maximize that time, so here's how it's going to work: I'm going to attack my backlog.

Some quick rules:

1. For a piece of media to get on the backlog, I have to WANT to consume it. I'm not adding anything out of guilt or obligation. (Though much of the content of the backlog is based on the recommendations of people I trust.) There's tons of classical literature that I haven't read, but unless it actually looks fun to me, I'm not going to try to fit it in.
2. I make no promises or apologies as to the quality, literary worth, ideological stance, etc. of anything in the backlog. This is my list. For the record, I'm politically conservative, a Christian, and a massive geek. The list is full of stuff I feel like consuming. If you want to do this, too, I heartily encourage you to make your own backlog and tell me about it.
3. Everything gets a fair shake, and only gets removed from the backlog under one of two conditions: 1. I finish it or 2. I decide I don't like it after all. The point of this exercise is to maximize my free time and get through stuff I actually enjoy, not to force myself to slog through something that's become a chore. PC Games with an asterisk (*) after their names are open-ended or sim-type games and therefore I can't "finish" them. I can, however, play long enough to get a good sense of them. When I reach that point, I'll call 'em "done."
4. There's no particular timetable for finishing - my backlog is LONG.
5. Once the backlog has been started, to add something to the backlog, I have to remove two other things of the same type first.
6. The backlog may be attacked in any order I choose.
7. The backlog will grow until I feel I've got everything that's truly in it, and then I'll get started.
8. The backlog has 5 sub-backlogs. These are: PC games, fiction books, non-fiction books, movies, and TV seasons.
9. As I remove things from the backlog, I'll post impressions of what I consume.
10. Things I'm required to consume for one reason or another are separate from the backlog and do not count. The backlog is for fun. My college textbooks, for example, do not go under non-fiction.
11. I reserve the right to change these rules and add to or subtract whole categories from them at any time.
12. Suspension: if, for whatever reason, an item cannot be consumed, it is not removed from the backlog, but suspended. Suspended items will be noted in the master backlog list. When I clear whatever hurdles prevent me from consuming it, it will be removed from suspended status. Suspended items do not count as being on the backlog at all for the purposes of eliminating things. ADDED 12/3/2009
13. If I decide I don't like something, I can immediately replace it with something else. ADDED 12/18/2009

One other note: This is stuff I haven't gotten to (or through) yet. If you're wondering why (for instance) Dragon Age: Origins isn't on the PC games backlog, it's because I've played through it already.

I welcome any and all feedback. If this becomes popular enough, I have further plans for this idea.